Book Review – #BlackReedBay by @Rod_WR @OrendaBooks

Happy e-publication day to Rod Reynolds for Black Reed Bay! The paperback will be out on the 2nd September but you can buy your e-book copy today. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything suggests a domestic incident.

Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn’t sit right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it’s going to have only one ending…

And then the first body appears…

My Review

I’ve loved all of Rod Reynolds books but there’s something particularly special about Black Reed Bay and it’s Detective Casey Wray. After reading only a few chapters, I felt as though I’d known Casey all my life. Tough but empathetic, Reynolds puts her through the wringer in this book but somehow she’s still standing at the end.

Reynolds has moved back to the US for his setting but unlike his Charlie Yates series, we’re in modern day. That doesn’t affect his lilting American style though and we’re treated to some superb writing. I don’t want to give away any more plot than the blurb above but I was kept on tenterhooks throughout. Like Casey Wray herself, I was struggling to work out who could be trusted.

I really hope this isn’t a standalone book as I think there’s a lot more to come from Detective Casey Wray. I can’t wait to see what happens with her next.

You can buy the e-book now and pre order the paperback here.

The Author

Rod Reynolds is the author of five novels, including the Charlie Yates series, the standalone Blood Red City and the forthcoming Black Reed Bay.

His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian have called the books ‘Pitch-perfect American noir.’ A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City, which was a Summer 2020 pick in the FT. In 2021, he again turns to the US, this time to present-day Long Island, with Black Reed Bay.

Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in Novel Writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and children and spends most of his time trying to keep up with them.

Contact him:

http://www.rodreynolds.com
twitter: @Rod_WR
facebook: @RodReynoldsBooks

Extra May FM Panel with @BAParisAuthor @FionaAnnCummins @mcgrathmj @LauraSRobinson @JakeKerridge @1stMondayCrime Book Review #DaughtersOfNight

Having confused you all with two Second Monday Crimes, we’re now giving you Fourth Monday Crime on 24th May! (Don’t worry, we’re back to normal for June.) Yes, we’re giving you an extra panel in May with four incredible authors – B.A. Paris (The Therapist), Fiona Cummins (When I Was Ten), Mel McGrath (Two Wrongs) and Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Daughters of Night), with Jake Kerridge asking the questions. We will be on the First Monday Facebook page at 7.30pm BST. Before I re share my review of Daughters of Night, here’s the blurb.

 

The Blurb

From the pleasure palaces and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night follows Caroline Corsham as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget . . .

Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’

London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.

But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous, than she can know . . .

 

My Review

I loved Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s debut Blood & Sugar and Daughters of Night is even better. Laura’s depth of research comes across well and I felt completely submerged into Georgian London. Just thinking about it now I feel myself pulled back into that world. But if you’re expecting a Jane Austen Georgian view, then think again. Yes, we have the aristocracy and the wealthy but we also have the underbelly of London’s streets. There are three main narrators – Caroline Corsham, wife of Harry Corsham from Blood & Sugar; Peregrine ‘Perry’ Child, former magistrate now turned thieftaker; and Pamela, a young maid who wants more out of life so decides to auction her virtue to the highest bidder. Definitely not Jane Austen!

When Caro discovers the body of a young woman, she’s determined to find the murderer. Her husband is away so she hires Perry Child to help her. Sounds simple enough but when it’s revealed that the young woman was a high-class whore and not the lady Caro thought she was, Caro and Perry find themselves plunged into a very sinister world.

There is so much going on in this novel and I genuinely couldn’t work out who was responsible. Just when I thought I knew, there would be another twist. Even Caro has her own secrets to deal with. This book combines, art, Greek philosophy, the aristocracy, war heroes, whores, taverns, jewellers and banks! And that’s just what I remember!

Caro is a wonderful character. Forget the simpering, modest Georgian wife as Caroline Corsham has a mind of her own and is not afraid to use it. I think I actually prefer her to Harry but I’d love to see them team up together in another book.

This is a truly magnificent novel and deserves to do incredibly well. After reading Daughters of Night, I tried to read a contemporary crime novel but I couldn’t settle to it. Instead I’ve started to read The Mirror and the Light* by Hilary Mantel and quite honestly, that should tell you something about the calibre of Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s writing. I eagerly anticipate her next book.

*I wrote this review in February for Laura’s publication day. I’ve since read The Mirror and the Light and as much as I enjoyed it, I preferred Daughters of Night.

You can buy Daughters of Night here or you can now head out to your nearest bookshop!

 

The Author

Laura Shepherd-Robinson was born in Bristol in 1976. She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Laura worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing at City University. She lives in London with her husband, Adrian.

 

First Monday Crime May – Book Review #WhatTheyKnew @MarionETodd @canelo_co @1stMondayCrime

We’ve got Second Monday Crime again due to those pesky but much needed bank holidays. Joining us on Monday 10th May at 7.30 pm BST on our Facebook page are Tina Baker (Call Me Mummy), Phoebe Morgan (The Wild Girls), James Delurgy (Vanished) and Marion Todd (What They Knew). William Shaw (The Trawlerman) will be asking the questions. I have a review for Marion’s book but before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

DI Clare Mackay starts the new year with a death…

It is the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay when Alison Reid admits a caller to her home. When her death is later reported, DI Clare Mackay attends the scene. The initial evidence does not rule out murder, but it’s not possible to say for certain if foul play was involved. Yet when the pathologist informs Clare about a post mortem of a young woman found in the Kinness Burn, and with some similarities to Alison’s case, it seems there’s a strong chance that there’s a killer on the loose in St Andrews.

Clare and her team will have to look past the obvious conclusions and delve deeper into the lives of the victims to get to the truth. But who else risks meeting the same fate while the clock is ticking?

My Review

Although this is the fourth book in the DI Clare Mackay series, it’s my first Marion Todd read. As well as writing police procedurals myself, I love reading them too. It’s like slipping into a world that I vaguely know and Marion Todd does not disappoint.

When DI Clare Mackay is called to a suspicious death in early January, she has no idea as to what is about to unfold. Rather than easing back into work after the Christmas break, Mackay and her team are thrown into a murder inquiry that escalates quite dramatically.

What They Knew is set in St. Andrews in Scotland. I got some sense of the town from the descriptions given. In particular, I loved the hairdresser’s shop that claimed to have cut Prince William’s hair – he had a bit more in his student days. As it’s January, there’s also snow and ice to contend with which doesn’t aid DI Mackay in her enquiries.

As mentioned earlier, this is the fourth book in the series but it’s very easy to read and I picked up on the main characters quite quickly. I liked the camaraderie between Clare Mackay and her team, especially her DS – Chris West. They had some great banter going on but it’s clear that Clare is fond of Chris in a sisterly sort of way.

There’s some interesting twists in the plot and I loved the forensic details that proved to be so important to the case. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot as I don’t want to give any spoilers but there are some clever and very subtle clues that I didn’t pick up on straight away.

A great read that kept me guessing until nearly the end.

 

If you want to buy What They Knew then click here or better still, you can now go to your local bookshop!

 

Just to give you a little heads up, we have two more panels before taking a break until the autumn. We have an extra May panel on Monday 24th and then our June panel on Monday 7th. We’ll be giving further details soon but put those dates in your diaries!

 

The Author

A native of Dundee, Marion studied music and worked for many years as a piano teacher and jobbing accompanist. A spell as a hotel lounge pianist provided rich fodder for her writing and she began experimenting with a variety of genres. Early success saw her winning first prize in the Family Circle Magazine Short Story for Children national competition and she followed this up by writing short stories and articles for her local newspaper.

Marion has also worked as a college lecturer, plantswoman and candle-maker and now is a full-time writer, penning the DI Clare Mackay series of crime fiction novels set in St Andrews. The first of these, SEE THEM RUN, is shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut Novel of the Year 2020.

Marion lives now in North East Fife, overlooking the magnificent River Tay. When she’s not writing she can be found tussling with her with her jungle-like garden and walking her daughter’s unruly but lovable dog. You can find out more about Marion at her website: http://www.mariontodd.com

Marion is represented by Northbank Talent Management and her crime novels are published by Canelo.